


Clearing The Foliage

by God_of_Death



Category: Wolverine/Gambit - Fandom, X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Ancient Rome, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hello Tomato, M/M, One-time Crossover, Personal Triumph, Roman with a Grudge, UnRomantic Getaway, Vampire/Mutant Crossover, X-Men Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 15:25:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13390707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/God_of_Death/pseuds/God_of_Death
Summary: Disclaimer: Logan, Remy, Xavier (mentioned) and the X-Men belong to Marvel Comics. I make no claim to them. My own characters are Donna Baker and Jonathon Talicus as well as the background characters. Darwin Forest Country Park is a real park and has no knowledge of or connection to my story. This work is fictional.Summary: Logan and Remy are on holiday, in England. While there, they come across a murdered mutant girl that Xavier has asked them to contact and bring back with them to the states. First, they must solve a rash of inexplicable murders, much to the dismay of a deranged vampire.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OriginalCeenote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalCeenote/gifts), [SisterWine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SisterWine/gifts).



> Note: Jonathon Talicus appears as a request by SisterWine. Jonathon is my own character created as an original story listed on AO3 entitled "Run East." Do not use.

Derbyshire, England

Logan lead the way through the open spaces of the forest. His keen senses pulled him closer to the coordinates Xavier had given him. The smell of rotting flesh both repulsed him and drove him to find the victim before hungry animals did. "Over there, about ten metres." He pointed to the far left where a tuft of hair showed through the pile of dead leaves and twig-like branches covered the body of a young woman, the mutant they were sent to find and bring back to the Mansion. They approached with caution but he left Remy to stand back while he inspected the body. "Dead less than thirteen hours. Her killer might still be lurkin' around." The sun was still high in the sky. He could see it through the trees although, she had been hidden from the sun by clever positioning by the killer.

"When Remy say he 'wanted to go out wit' you,' he didn't mean 'let's go investigatin.' Dis is borin', cher." Remy slouched against a tall English oak and shuffled his newest deck of cards. He and Logan stood in the middle of Darwin Forest Country Park and examined the lifeless body of a young woman. They arrived only a day before and Remy would find himself yawning more often than not from the lack of sleep while on the plane. His signature monterey ruffled in the light breeze of England's Spring air and was barely muffled by the sounds of blowing dead, brown leaves.

Darwin Forest Park was a popular holiday spot with pinelog cabins and all the latest amenities one could ask for nestled in a clearing and surrounded by tall, thick trees. It was also among the highest ranked places in England to visit but it hadn't opened for the season, yet. The manager had taken the week prior to inspect the grounds and bring in the cleaning crew before official opening day. It was then that the manager discovered the body and called for the Yard to hurry over. By then, Logan and Remy had made their way onto the grounds and asked for a room early, as booking a room was near impossible on a whim.

The manager had explained to them, rather hesitantly, that the park would have to be rescheduled to open under unfortunate circumstances. He stood behind the desk of the office and folded his hands on the counter to keep them from shaking, as the two American gentlemen stared at him with indecipherable looks. His hiding of the fact there was a dead body on the grounds hadn't lasted long as he was unable to persuade them to come back later in the week. His panic only escalated as Logan leaned over the brand new counter and asked in a very unamused tone what was he not telling them. He deflated and met Logan's eyes before pointing out the large double-paned window and explained with much effort that he had found a body, cast under a low-draping scrub some forty metres out from the edge of the tree line.

Logan crouched next to the body and sniffed the strange scent that covered her corpse. "Look at it this way, Gumbo. We ARE spendin' time together."His eyes narrowed and allowed him to zoom in on the two marks on her jugular. "Bite marks." He leaned in and sniffed again. "Whatever it was, was dead when it bit her."

Remy pushed off of the tree and came closer but kept his distance from the body. "She was attacked by a dead t'ing? Dey sure do strange t'ings in England." Remy scoffed and looked from the body to their surroundings. "She bring de dead to life?"

Shaking his head, Logan stared closely at the wounds. "No. The Prof said she had the power of super speed." He sniffed and began looking over her clothes and hands for any signs of struggle or fallen remnants from the attacker. Reaching over her and picking up a single, long strand of blond, almost white hair. "Blond hair." Logan looked from the strand to the hair on her head. "Not hers." Logan stood up and held up the strand for Remy to see.

"Why's dat important?"

"She's brunette." 

Remy finally looked down at her. She was pretty but not so pretty as to not have a dark secret about her life. "Petite fille, 'bout twenty-ish, mutant an' out in de forest all alone. She got speed. She coulda run from anyt'in chasin her, 'specially if dey were dead. Don't make sense, cher." Ears perking as he heard the distinct sound of the ambulance siren. "I'll go lead dem here. Hate fer dem to stumble around in de dark." He looked up at what he could see of the darkening sky from beneath the canopy of tall trees and then glanced back to Logan, who had bent down to examine the girl's skintight denims and white knit sweater. "What?" The look on Logan's face required him to pause and ask what his lover sensed.

Logan stood again and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Discreetly checking his peripherals, he tensed as he felt they were not alone. "Feel that?" He asked in a hushed tone. "We ain't alone."

"Course not. De dead girl... and de approachin' police. Remember?" Remy didn't want to let on that he had noticed another presence lurking in the trees, just after the sun had disappeared from the skyline. "I'll go get de police." Remy started walking before he turned fully around and quickly picked up the pace as he heard the crunching of leaves from the police footsteps getting closer. He shoved the pack of cards into his jacket pocket but kept one in his concealed hand, just in case. He knew Logan could take care of himself but his intuition told him there was something more to their watcher. His footsteps crunched and swished and relaxed him with each movement he made. Remy found himself looking down at the dead foliage on the ground, as he walked. When he looked up again, he was met with the chief inspector and her unit, as well as a team of medical personnel that waited with a gurney at the ready.

Logan turned slowly and surveyed the treeline. A far off flicker caught his eye. He knew someone or something was watching him. "Come on out, you little undead prick. I know yer watchin'." He kept his voice low, just barely above a whisper but he had hoped the lurking monster had heard his pending threat. He hated a lot of things but mostly hated waiting for something to happen. The sound of approaching footsteps deterred him from advancing from speaking idle threats to physically searching for the beast. 

"....dat's it. We just arrived here." Remy was explaining to the sergeant how they came upon the park and then the body. He joined Logan, who stood off to the side while the coroner handled the preliminaries of the body. "De good news, it looks like we can stay, cher. Bad news, de want to see our tickets." Folding his arms and watching the men place the body into a black bag and then loading it onto a gurney, Remy sighed and closed his eyes out of dread of the next few days. "Dis ain't de 'together time' Remy was talkin' about."

~~~~~~~~

Logan shoved the card key into the strip and swiped it, unlocking the door to their cabin and opened it before stepping aside to let Remy enter first. They detoured to a small shopping center, on their way back to the park, from the Yard. Remy carried the majority of the grocery bags and Logan carted in the borrowed file folder boxes of recent "unexplained deaths." For once, Logan was grateful that Xavier had foreseen the doom and called the Yard, offering their help in the matter so, when Logan and Remy sat down in the Chief Inspector's office, they were in awe of the woman handing over the files with hardly a pause. Dropping the double-stacked boxes onto the end of the adjacent gray loveseat and straightening from his bent position, Logan froze in place and sniffed. 

The cabins of the park were set up as a small, residential community style, with paved roadway and a small walkway from road to porch. A brown wood outside with a light honey glazed wood on the inside. Cottage style furnishings with a hint of new wave. The living room off to the right of the door and the small kitchen and dining area set on the other side of the room, a small hallway to the left lead to a choice of master bedroom and adjacent smaller guest bedroom, with two twin beds. Creme carpet lined the floors, except in the kitchen. The flooring in the washroom contained black tile accented by the white porcelain stand alone lavatory and Roman-style sink.

"D'you leave de window open in de bedroom?" Remy called from the master room. After placing the bags of groceries down on the counter and then scooping up the separate bag of toiletries and making his way down the hall, he stopped between the master bedroom on the left and the bathroom on the right, and turned to look at the small, open window next to the bed. He also noticed that their suitcases had been discreetly gone through and not where he and Logan had placed them only hours earlier. Sidestepping in the washroom and placing the bag in the sink, he then turned to follow Logan in the master bedroom and survey the scene.

Sniffing, Logan growled. "It was here." The window was open only an inch but wide enough for him to get a faint trace of the same smell he noticed in the woods. The thing had managed to open the window from a locked position, then climbed through and rummaged through their items, leaving almost no trace of tampering. He sighed at the thought of not being able to relax on their holiday but Logan found a small piece of comfort in knowing he might find the stalker and end the chase.

"De dead t'ing." Remy shrugged out of his monterey and tossed it onto the side of the bed closest to the door. A hand smoothed over his purple T-shirted stomach as it growled its hunger.

"Yep." Logan walked over and closed and latched the lift-up handle. "The girl must've been its 'territory' and we took it away. Now, it wants to see who we are."

Leaning against the doorjamb, Remy absently kept his hand on his stomach as it growled again. "Wonderful. Well, if it's okay wit' him, maybe we get somet'ing to eat, den we give it a show, hey?" Winking at the smaller man and giving Logan a sultry look, Remy motioned for Logan to come closer for a kiss before grabbing his hand and leading him back down the hall, to the groceries. He put the remaining groceries away in the cabinets and fridge and left Logan to fix something to eat; two small round steaks, baked potatoes and green beans. 

They sat down at the small table in the dining area and ate their meals in silence. Logan read file after file of the missing or dead mysteries while Remy studied the autopsy reports and surroundings photos in which the bodies were discovered. When they were finished with their meals, Remy washed the dishes and put them away before they retired to the bedroom. It was well after three in the morning when they finally made it to sleep but after eleven when they awoke to reread the files and compare notes, all over again.

~~~~~~~~

On the second night, while Remy had fallen asleep on the couch, stretched out underneath some open files, Logan sat at the table and reread his notes on four of the dead bodies recovered under mysterious circumstances. He sighed and stood, stretching from sitting too long. With a sharp inhale, he caught the scent of death, again. This time, it was closer and much more pungent. It had just fed and had made itself comfortable by sitting at the table, on the front deck, hands folded and casually watching the two men inside the cabin.

Logan turned and made his way quietly over to the door and opened it. The figure was still there, sitting in silhouette, leaning back in the patio chair with his hands folded and resting on his stomach, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. Logan closed the door behind him as he stepped out. Again the figure remained. "Enjoyin' the show, Bub?" Logan removed a cigar from his shirt breast pocket and bit the end, spitting it out before lighting the other end with his favourite Zippo. The flame illuminated his face, allowing the watcher to see the anger in Logan's expression. When no answer came, he glanced over and found the figure sitting in silence and watching him. "The silent voyeur? Or, are you just testin' the waters, first?"

The figure unfolded his hands and offered Logan a seat, across from him, at the table. Shoulder-length blond hair brushed against his tan, long-sleeved button-up shirt. He waited for Logan to sit down and give another puff of his cigar, before looking the shorter, more hairy man over. Blue eyes blinked with calmness and studied every inch of Logan's face. "You do not smell human, American." His accent, although still pronounced, became more refined as he spoke. Tenor tones kept low and neutral, in case the man took offense.

Another puff. "I ain't."

"Not human?" 

Logan puffed on his cigar again, releasing a dark gray cloud of smoke between them. The night air was already chilly and thick with low, light fog that burnt off in the catching light. "Not human. Not American." Raking his front teeth over his bottom lip, he added, "you certainly don't smell... alive." On the next inhale, he stared at the face of the young man across from him. There was something deeply off about the figure, not just in body but mentally as well. Logan narrowed his eyes as the next inhale told him the figure was much much older than he looked. 

The figure laughed softly but didn't move. "No. No, I suppose I am not."

"Then, who the fuck are you?" Logan leaned forward and asserted his tone. 

Shrugging, the figure seemed excited at Logan's anger. "Does it really matter? However, if you must know, my name is Jonathon Talicus. And, you are...?" Once again, he unfolded his hands and offered Logan's introduction. Even though, the cigar masked Logan's curious scent, Jonathon was able to pick up similarities between the two men in the cabin and the young woman he had left in the woods.

Logan clicked his tongue and held up his free hand, releasing the claws to show Jonathon. "That's all you need to know, Jon Boy."

Jonathon's right eyebrow twitched upwards in excitement. "Oh my. Your mother let you do that to her fancy cutlery? Tsktsktsk. Shall I inquire where you've placed the spoons?" 

Logan growled, gaining a rise out of the young man. "I could ask the same of your habits, Bub. For instance, Donna Baker?" The corner of his mouth lifted in a mute smile. "Got yer attention now, didn't I? Why'd you kill her?"

"Was that her name? I rarely remember delicious meals but, that one was exquisite. One of your kind, in fact. Did you know her?" Jonathon watched Logan's reaction, leaning forward. "I do wish you hadn't have taken her from me. I thought I had taken generous care in her concealment." His head tilt forward as Logan's brows came together in confusion and then relaxed as clarity hit him. 

"She was an American mutant. My boss sent us over here to keep her safe from your sorry ass." When his statement didn't receive any acknowledgement other than a twinge of sorrow, Logan retract his claws. "You didn't kill her."

"No. I did not." Jonathon answered. "I see you have been going over the collection of files given to you by Scotland Yard. Anything mentioned about me, perhaps? Oh, I do love short stories." He smiled, much to the building ire of Logan. A moment of silence between them as they stared at one another. Jonathon shifted in his seat and tilted his head to look around Logan, to the sleeping figure on the couch. "Do you care for your lover as much as you have shown?"

With one last puff, Logan stamped out his cigar into the glass ashtray on the table and released the claws on both hands before standing up and raising them, defensively. "You come near Remy, you sonofabitch and I'll put your worm-eaten carcass in the ground. This time, it'll take."

"My, that would be refreshing. Wouldn't it?" Jonathon smiled widely and sat back, as if inviting the threat. He bowed his head and stared at his hands, neatly folded on his abdomen. "I am not the monster you seek from those files. Yet, if you enjoy your sleeping lover as much as you've shown, remove him and yourself from England. The real monster that lies in wait, is not a lover of romance." Checking the shiny watch on his right wrist, Jonathon shifted and took one last glance upward at a snarling Logan and used the second Logan turned back to look at the still sleeping Remy, as a moment to clear himself of the chair and the porch he had occupied for the past two nights.

Continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Logan crouched down and examined the leaves of the bush the body was found under while Remy searched the dead foliage around the open area, hoping to find a clue the police might have missed. His eyes narrowed on the tuft of red material. "Rem, what was the girl wearin'?" Reaching underneath the long, thorny bush and freed the fragment from a sharp thorn near the ground. Both spent hours combing the wooded area for more than just immediate clues. Logan was up, after having only an hour or so of sleep and hurried through making coffee, breakfast and then showering all before Remy had rolled off of the couch. The notes they had taken of the other deaths were carefully folded and tucked into the backpocket of his jeans, to which he pulled out and read and reread over and over as they walked.

"White sweater an' jeans, why? Ya find somet'ing?" Remy was on his hands and knees, carefully sweeping the leaves lightly with his hand. When no answer came, he tried again to start the conversation from another angle. "Ya sayin' dis guy just shoved her under de bush an' left her dere? Remy's thinkin' dere was a fight. Findin' trois sets o' footprints. One is definitely more forceful dan de others." Remy stood and stepped into the heaviest set of tracks and tried to follow them, gathering as much of an idea as he could about the scene. He had ruled out the police and the Coroners' tramplings and now studied each set of tracks thoroughly, ending with the girl's body being discarded where she was found. His attention was called over to what Logan pulled back from the underside of the bush. "Red material?" 

"The cops were wearin' blue and the two coroners wore white." Logan came closer to where Remy stood, holding the thread between his thumb and forefinger. He himself wore a denim button down shirt with brown shoulders, rolled at the cuffs so he knew it wasn't from him. He held it up to look at it more closely and sniffed it to be sure the sight matched the smell. "Same dead smell."

Remy raised a brow. "Maybe, our friend in de trees?"

Logan exhaled. "I don't know. He was wearin' tan when we had our chat on the porch. He smelled old but this smells older." 

"How old?"

"Ancient mud old." Logan had an idea. "C'mon."

Remy had to jog to catch up to the shorter man as Logan stalked back to the cabin and left him standing in the middle of the clearing. "Hey, Speedy, wait up!" He caught up with only a few strides and talked Logan's ear off during the walk back. "Somet'in' you ain't tellin' me? 'He' who an' what d'ya mean by 'ancient mud'?" He grabbed Logan's hand in an attempt to slow the man down as they reached the roadway. "Hey, answer me! What de Hell is goin' on?"

As Logan reached the porch steps, he stopped and turned to face Remy. "Last night, there was a visitor sittin' at the table." He pointed over to the chair Jonathon sat in. "He's a vampire. An old one, at that. He and I had a chat about the girl. He said something about how the real murderer was not a fan of romance. The feeling I got from this kid was that he knew the real killer. Still got that book you were readin' on the plane?" Logan climbed the stairs as he asked the question and pulled Remy along.

Remy lurched and stumbled as he followed Logan up the steps and inside. "Yeah, s'in de bag. Why?"

"Get it." Logan detoured and retrieved the notes from the dining room table. "This kid looked Roman but had blond hair. Said his name was 'Talicus', Jonathon Talicus." Logan stalked down the hall and into the bedroom, grabbing Remy's carry on and tossing it onto the end of the bed. The maroon carry on looked more like a small vinyl bag with a shoulder strap than anything but Logan grabbed the large zipper handle and unzipped the bag, pulling the material apart before digging through it.

Remy stopped in the doorway and listened to what Logan was telling him. "Talicus? Dere was a Roman general dat lived in de first century. He died in battle. Den, it was called, Londinium. Dere's a statue somewhere in London, dat was removed or destroyed in de war, in de middle ages. Dere's an exhibit of London's history, at de museum." He stepped forward and took the book from Logan as he pulled it from the bag. Flipping through the book, he stopped on the chapter of London's history and pointed to a black and white statue of a Roman in full general dress with his helmet under one arm and his shield leaning against his right calf. "Dat don' look like no kid, cher." He tapped the picture of the old man carved in alabaster and standing atop a large stone pillar.

"No, but the kid I saw last night had the same thin face. Maybe it was his kid, or somethin'." Logan stared at the picture. Remembering the notes and travel map in his hands, he spread them out on the bed before unfolding the map and placing it beside them. "The first one was in Southeast Manchester, the second was in Chapel-en-le-Frith. After that, it went to Baslow and the victim was found face down on the bank of the river Derwers. The next was Derby and the surroundin' areas for the next five victims. The last one was Donna. Which means, there's a good chance it's still in town." 

Remy stared at the laid out map and used the pen that was clipped to the notepad to mark where Logan had pointed to. "S'makin' its way south. Why? If it's dat old and wants off de country, dere's plenty o' ways to do it. If Remy had to guess, he'd say dis t'ing was headin' somewhere important. Dat history exhibit has a permanent one in de Museum of London but dere's a travellin' one dat stopped in every city a murder happened." He tapped the map with his left index finger. "Dere was trois footprints around where de girl was found, in de woods. One was very heavy an' de other one might be your friend from de porch. De girl didn't last long. More like bein' tossed around like a rag doll."

"I got a feelin' where he'll be tonight. Meantime, we got a few hours to kill."

Remy smirked and closed the book, tossing it onto the desk, behind him. "Remy's got plenty o' ideas on how you can make up keepin' Remy in de dark, you naughty man." He winked and grabbed Logan's shirt by the buttons and pulled him close, kissing him and casually slipping his tongue into Logan's mouth. His hands busied themselves unbuttoning Logan's shirt and then his own as Logan eagerly watched.

"Do share." Logan returned the smirk and anxiously awaited his punishment.

~~~~~~~~~~

University of Nottingham Museum  
Museum of Archaeology  
Nottingham, England

"De pamphlet say de exhibit opens tomorrow, to de public." Remy's long strides kept up with Logan hurried short ones as they walked across the empty parking lot to the large round building. Stepping onto the curb, his arm was grabbed in an attempt to halt them. 

Logan squeezed Remy's arm and shoved him back, off of the curb. "It's here." He sniffed and released the three sharp claws on his left hand, as his right held Remy behind him. Panning the grounds, he noted the scent seemed to come from all directions and nowhere in particular. Logan let go of Remy's arm and without looking back, told him to "stay there" while he stepped forward and tried to pinpoint the location of the ancient, earthy smell that overtook his senses. He took another step and stopped on the cool grass and sniffed again. The smell came from the main auditorium and he stalked after it, not waiting for Remy to follow him.

Remy held a card in his hand and kept it at the ready, waiting for the first sign of trouble. The grounds were eerily quiet and deserted. Street lamps and pathway lights illuminated the grounds, leaving very few places to hide. He breathed out and stood still, listening to his surroundings. "Logan," he whispered, "somet'ing's over dere." Pointing to a bush at the far end of the grounds, next to the auditorium door. He watched the flicker of a dark object as it moved and concealed itself behind the bush.

Making his way over to where Remy pointed, Logan stopped half way there and sniffed again. He turned in time to see a dark figure come from the side and knock Remy to the ground, rolling with him back and forth to gain control.

While pinned on the grass with a madman on top of him, Remy used both hand to push at the man's chest, trying to force the monster off of him. The brute strength of the man, who resembled a rabid gargoyle, was slowly wearing Remy down. Turning his head and grimacing away from the rows of razor-sharp teeth that came ever closer by the man's ever-craning forward neck, he groaned and flattened a hand against the man's ancient Roman military armour the monster wore and charged it, sending the beastlike creature sprawling backward. Remy sprang to his feet and panted as he watched the man crouching down, in the middle of the pavement. "A Roman? Lil early for Halloween, mon brave!" 

The man snarled at Remy, his eyes wild and red with feral hunger. He was an older man, in his late fifties, with short greying hair and a squared face. His red tunic was covered in patches of both moss and ancient mud from the site of his tomb. Thick muscles flexed and twitched as his crouched there, ready to charge the young man, again. A loud roar erupted from the monster's throat before moving towards the tall, thin meal but he stopped as he saw a glowing card in the younger man's hand. A clawed and deformed hand moved to his chestplate and he let out a snarl again. 

"Hey, Bub," Logan called, "come try me. I'll scratch yer back, for ya."

Burning red eyes moved from Remy to the shorter, more hairy man, a few feet away. He smiled wickedly and then paused as another figure came into view from behind Logan. He hissed, loudly and in a blink, vanished from where he crouched to knock over the shadowed figure, on the walk. The two fought viciously; growling and clawing at each other. His teeth dripping with saliva as his mouth widened for a bite. Rolling onto his back and laughing, maniacally, he wedged a heavy, sandaled foot between them and launched the smaller, more spry opponent off of him to send him flying backward and crouched, upside down, high on the rounded building, clinging to it by sinisterly sharp fingernails. "This... is... MINE!" he hissed at the figure still stuck on the wall. Getting to his feet in an angry huff, he hissed and snarled again at Remy and then Logan as he ran towards the smaller man who welcomed the aggressor.

Jonathon pushed himself off of the wall and landed on his feet, quickly making his way over to Remy and grabbed the man's raised arm that held the glowing six of diamonds. "He is in no mood to play solitaire."

"Non? How 'bout 'pick up'?" Remy removed the rest of the deck from his monterey pocket and charged them all, bending them and sending them scattering upward, raining down fifty-two exploding pieces of paper and gaining the attention of the beast wrestling with Logan. He smiled as it was enough of a distraction for Logan to sink three of his six claws into the armour and slicing downward, into the man's abdomen. He readied another barrage of cards as the monster howled in pain and staggered backward, releasing Logan and hissing at the three. "Come play wit' Gambit, mon brave!"

The two vampires snarled at each other, both daring the other to advance first. The older one held his hand over his slashed breastplate as the blood poured from the three slice marks given to him by Logan. The blades had cut clean through the gold-plated and steel-backed armour that appeared to be molded into a man's chest. His red cloak was missing, torn off after a century of being buried or simply discarded hundreds of years ago before the slumber finally took him. The old soldier let out a loud sigh and stepped forward, playfully swatting at Logan with his free hand and bearing his teeth at Remy, forcing the three men to back away but be ready for an attack. "We... rise... AGAIN! We... crush... you... slave!" The monster choked out with a raspy voice. His words were thick with long unspoken tones of Italia that dripped with crimson cruelty. He then smirked before making one last rush toward Remy, knocking him to the ground and laughing as the darkness and incoming fog concealed his escape.

Logan turned to follow the monster as he left and rushed to Remy's side, attempting to help his lover to his feet. "You didn't mention you had such adorin' fans." Once Remy made it to his feet, Logan turned to see Jonathon standing silently and watching them. "Old friend, is he?"

"Not hardly." Jonathon never broke a smile. In fact, he had taken to listening for any sound of where the beast might strike next. Brushing his denim shirt sleeves, he strained to listen further away. A few quiet seconds later, he had his answer. A scream had erupted from a block away and continued as the monster was now terrorizing a woman in a phone booth. "I shall take my leave for you to have your romping about. And," placing a hand on his chest and smiling sincerely at Remy, "my condolences to your playing cards." In an instant, he was gone much the same hurried exit as the monster before him.

~~~~~~~~~

Logan didn't bother with the car but instead, grabbed Remy's hand and pulled him along, both racing in the direction of the screams. By the time they caught up with Jonathon, they found the two once again locked in a vicious battle together. "Rem, get the girl outta there!" He called as they stood a good fifty feet away and watched the Roman slam Jonathon to the ground before madly scratching at the younger vampire's clothing, tearing at flesh. "Time for some slicin'." A loud SNIKT! could be heard as he grinned evilly and ran over to bulldoze through the man and knock him off, burying the sharp claws on his right hand into the man's left shoulder. 

The time was now well after midnight and the street corner was mostly deserted. Parked cars lined on both sides of the narrow street sat in shadows of tall buildings built too close together. The fog thickened the further from the streetlamp it went. The red phone booth stood just under the lamp, on the corner and was one of the last actual enclosed phones. The young woman of thirty-three had run out of gas and parked her car down the block, walking to the booth after realising she had run down her battery on her cell phone, and had just placed the money in, her finger poised to dial her boyfriend's phone when a menacing face appeared at the window, in front of her. She now cowered at the bottom of the booth, clutching the phone as the monster outside terrorized her and laughed, excitedly at her screams and cries for help.

Remy had coaxed the young woman out of the booth and removed his jacket to place it around her shoulders, comforting the hysterical woman. "Don' worry, petite. Gambit is here!" He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she burst into tears and buried her face in his left shoulder. Looking around for shelter on the dimly lit street, he spotted the tall cathedral at the far end of the street, where the intersection met. "Chere, run to de church! Go! Gambit keep you safe, dere!" Forcing her to look where he now pointed, he shoved her on the back and watched as she ran hastily towards the tall, heavy doors of the three-century-old stone building with large, brightly coloured picture windows depicting of Jesus and surrounding angels in a welcoming scene, above the doors. Once she had made it safely inside, he turned and was knocked to the ground by Jonathon, who was tossed aside by the angered Roman and an even more angered Canadian. 

"Hello, tomato!" Jonathon smiled as he lay atop Remy, in the middle of the street and stared into the mutant's discoloured eyes. The smile melted away as he looked more deeply into the man's eyes. His brow furrowing. "Does he always bring out the hunger within you?" Their noses barely touched but their bodies pressed together long enough for Jonathon to feel the pounding of the man's heart before being gruffly shoved off and left to stare up at Remy as he got to his feet. He lay on his back and stared at the offered hand to help him up and accepted it.

Smirking and patting Jonathon's back, he threw his arm around him and nodded over towards Logan and the Roman. "Dat man's de mos' satisfyin' man Remy's ever had. Try it some time."

Jonathon glanced over at the taller man with wide eyes. "Oh, no thank you. I'd be too tempted to ask for buttered bread. Shall we?" He stepped forward but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm.

"First, you gonn' tell me why dat long-lost statue suddenly came to life. An' den, why he called you 'slave'." Remy scowled but didn't release Jonathon's arm, even after the young vampire growled his resentment to the questions.

Turning and meeting eyes with the Cajun, Jonathon spoke calmly and pronounced, casting the man under his power. "Not now." Releasing himself and leaving Gambit to shake out of the trance, Jonathon walked past a wooden bench, under a lit bus stop canopy and ripped the top thin plank off of the back, breaking it in two over his knee and continuing to walk closer toward the two men, still fighting for dominance. As the Roman flipped Logan over his head and dumped him on to the roof of a parked pastel yellow Mini Cooper, Jonathon took the opportunity to step up and stab the Roman in the chest with the broken and pointed end of the plank before staggering back to look what he had done. His eyes opened wide as the Roman turned to snarl at him and grab Jonathon's shirt, by the front, and force him to bend back and rest against the hood of the Cooper and watch as he pulled the makeshift stake from his chest and point it at Jonathon's.

"You forgot your place, slave." The Roman scowled as the point came dangerously close to Jonathon's own chest. He sneered, pressing the tip slowly into the denim, left breast pocket of the faded jeans shirt but stopped when he heard the familiar metallic sound of blades unsheathing for Logan's hands. His head turned and he stared upward in disbelief at the man that now leaned over the windscreen and snarled at him.

"Hey, Bub," Logan growled, "game over." With a wave of his arm, the Roman's head split from his body and was sent flying only a short distance before both the head and body of the elder vampire disintegrated into dust, leaving no trace behind.

A sigh of relief escaped Jonathon as the wooden stake fell to the ground with a muffled clatter. He closed his eyes and inhaled. When he opened them, his eyes fell on Logan, now standing in front of him and offering a hand to help him stand up. "I am no longer a slave." 

Logan brushed himself off and eyed the vampire. "Spill. Who or what the Hell was that?"

Jonathon looked down at the stake laying on the pavement. "His name was Thenayan. When I was human, he was my master. He was much older than I had thought. When Rome fell, the Romans pulled out of Londinium. He must have stayed behind and fell into slumber until recent excavations unearthed him."

"Londinium? A thousand years ago, Londinium?" Logan asked in disbelief.

A nod. "Yes. But, he was much older." Casting his attention behind them, he smiled as he saw a slender figure walking towards them. He looked back at Logan and then over to where Remy had retrieved his monterey from the young woman, whom he had left in the safety of the church to wait her boyfriend and then back to the approaching woman from the opposite direction. "Let us never meet, again." He turned back to meet eyes with Logan but spoke with no overtones. "Tell your 'boss' the girl is safe." Without another word, Jonathon walked over to where Donna had stopped and embraced her, the large moon shining down, casting a silver aura against their silhouettes. A second later, they had vanished leaving Logan and Remy to stare at one another.

"Well, how about that romantic getaway?" Logan smirked and nudged the exhausted Cajun.

 

Finished.


End file.
